In a lengthy interview for the Bosnian edition of Vecernji list daily, the High Representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, spoke about changes to the Election Law, the country’s European path and threats to the Republika Srpska (RS) secession.

Schmidt said he hopes that local politicians will reach an agreement on technical changes to the BiH Election Law, which should ensure greater transparency of the election process, and that he will not have to use the Bonn powers.

As for the changes in the method of electing the members of the BiH Presidency, which the Croat nationalist parties insist on, there will apparently be nothing of that in 2024:

“These are complex constitutional and legal matters. It is something that needs to be discussed, that needs to be worked on together with all the other issues. Now I will mention the Sejdic-Finci verdict and others. I understand that these questions are mentioned, but what will be the answer to these questions is a matter of negotiations that should be conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We were in Neum almost two years ago and we have come a long way. However, if we want to fix something now, then it can only refer to technical matters. So, this is about who will count the votes at the polling stations. We left the possibility of electronic voter identification with a fingerprint. All the other things I don't think we should touch on now.”

Commenting on Milorad Dodik's threats to secede Republika Srpska from BiH, Schmidt said that they are a sign of “deep confusion” and “helplessness.”

He added that no one questions the existence of Republika Srpska, just as the existence of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Brcko District are not questioned.

When asked if he thinks that there could be new conflicts in Southeastern Europe in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Schmidt replied that BiH is not threatened by any new war, even though the whole world has become insecure.

“I think that what must be done now and why the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina is important is that we must say that this country is part of Europe and the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the interest of the Europeans and the North Atlantic Alliance. I don't know what Moscow is up to. We must be aware that a lot still depends on whether Moscow will be allowed to overrun and occupy Ukraine. After that, who could say that Ukraine will be the last country we are talking about?” High Representative Christian Schmidt told Vecernji list.